Explanation:
A small crystal ball seems to hold a whole galaxy in this
creative
snapshot.
Of course,
the galaxy is
our own Milky Way.
Its luminous central bulge marked by rifts of interstellar
dust spans thousands of light-years.
On this long southern hemisphere night it filled
dark Chilean skies
over Paranal Observatory.
The single exposure image did not require a Very Large
Telescope, though.
Experiments with
a digital camera on a tripod and crystal
ball perched on a handrail outside the Paranal Residencia
produced the evocative, cosmic marble portrait of our home galaxy.